Sir Bob Jones
The Banking Ombudsman has ordered the BNZ to pay two scam victims nearly $300,000 for following their payment instructions.
The Ombudsman slammed the Bank for “missing crucial red flag” signs of the fraud. This is insanity.
It is not the Bank’s role to monitor its account holders’ expenditure decisions. Their function is elementary, specifically to act as a depository for clients’ funds and, irrelevant in this case, to act as a money-lender.
50% of marriages fail, in many if not most cases incurring emotional and financial hardship.
Should the BNZ pass judgment on clients’ marriage plans and for example, in the case of the tiny percentage still going through Church weddings, attend and sometimes shout out “stop. Can’t you see she’s on the verge of obesity”. If not, why not?
Should they monitor all their customers spending and periodically intervene, such as planting staff in dress-shops and crying out “stop, that colour doesn’t suit you,” and so on.
Don’t dismiss that as silly. It’s absolutely no different in principle to the scam scenario.
I’m unaware of the legal framework re the Banking Ombudsman, specifically whether a bank can challenge its decisions in court. If they can I’d love to see them do so on this outrage, as it’s plain wrong in ascribing non-banking functions to banks.
By dint of owning the most prime CBD office buildings (19) my company owns the most retail shops in the Wellington CBD, specifically 69. If a prospective lessee wants to rent a vacant one say as a restaurant, are we obliged to point out that the average life of a new restaurant is New Zealand is 18 months? A similar story can be said for all proposed commercial ventures.
If I recollect correctly the Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier opposed the formation of the Banking Ombudsman as diluting the effect of the title, but his advice was ignored.
His decisions receive constant approving publicity for their wisdom and fairness. It’s hard to imagine him running with this idiotic banking decision.
All of this reflects the unhealthy contemporary behaviour of people not accepting responsibility for their own mistakes and instead seeking a scape-goat.
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